Tag: blast

2022 NBA Finals: Title odds for each team entering conference finals

Rookie Wire took a look at the latest championship odds for each team ahead of the conference finals.

With the second round of the NBA playoffs wrapped up, there are just four teams remaining as the conference finals begin this week after an entertaining semifinals slate.

The action will kick off on Tuesday as the top-seeded Miami Heat host the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics. The Celtics took the regular-season series, 2-1, but previously lost to the Heat in two previous meetings in the Eastern Conference Finals (2012, 2020).

NBA playoff picks: Heat vs. Celtics, Mavericks vs. Warriors; who reaches NBA Finals?

Meanwhile, the (3) Golden State Warriors will host the (4) Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. The Warriors lost the season series to the Mavericks, 3-1, and are 80-89 all-time versus Dallas.

The Warriors and Mavericks have previously only met once in the playoffs. In that 2007 matchup, the Warriors became the first No. 8 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in a seven-game series.

Here are the current title odds for the four teams remaining.

2022 NBA Finals: Teams with the best odds of winning after the first round

Rookie Wire took a look at the latest championship odds for every playoff team ahead of the conference semifinals.

The first round of the NBA playoffs is in the books with little to no surprises as of yet with the series favorites each winning and advancing on to the semifinals.

Injuries became a focus of the first round after several key players went down, including Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton. Booker is back but Embiid and Middleton will miss more time.

With the semifinals set to tip off, Rookie Wire took a look at the latest championship odds for every playoff team, according to the Tipico Sportsbook. To illustrate how things have changed, we also included teams’ previous odds of winning prior to the start of the playoffs.

Laurie Fitzpatrick’s 2022 NFL mock draft

Touchdown Wire’s, Laurie Fitzpatrick reveals her mock draft as the first round comes closer.

This is the first draft in recent memory where there isn’t a consensus number one overall prospect. There are still guys rising and falling as each day passes.

In my first and only mock, I’ve looked at the value that each player adds to the team making the pick. There are only a few teams that are in a rebuild, this means that teams may not go with best available, but rather guys that help them win now.

That being said, there won’t be any trades in this mock draft. Just straight picks that fill teams’ needs.

Let’s start with the top pick. The Jacksonville Jaguars are on the clock!

Where should Gordon Hayward play next season?

Gordon Hayward trade rumors have picked up steam. Where should the former All-Star play next season?

Former All-Star Gordon Hayward may be looking for a new NBA chapter, as rumors have swirled that the former Butler Bulldog is unhappy in Charlotte. The Hornets, meanwhile, have a bonafide superstar in LaMelo Ball, and a budding identity centered on speed and athleticism. The oft-injured Hayward is on the wrong side of thirty, and might not fit Charlotte’s future or timeline.

Hayward is in the midst of a hefty four-year, $120 million contract. To complicate the matter, any move would trigger a 15% trade bonus for Hair Gordon. When healthy, he is still one of the better players in the NBA, but certainly moving such a lucrative deal would be quite challenging for the Hornets. Still, like Bradley Beal or even Kyrie Irving, a major change could be in the works.

If the Hornets do make good on any of the many Gordon Hayward trade rumors currently floating around, it could send shockwaves around the NBA. This may be an opportunity for Charlotte to re-tool its roster and for Hayward to play a bigger role elsewhere. So, where should Gordon Hayward play next season?

2022 NFL draft: The top 50 players in the 2022 NFL class

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield unleash their Big Board: The top 50 players in the 2022 NFL draft class.

Every team has its own scouting methods to get where they need to get before the draft begins. Area scouts compile their reports through the season, directors of scouting compile those reports over time, and then, everything is funneled up to coaches and general managers. Then, team musts and needs are considered, best players available regardless of position are listed, and eventually, NFL teams will put together their Big Boards — the players most highly regarded in the building as the draft goes down.

At Touchdown Wire, our two-person staff (Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield) did it a little differently. We had to act as our own area scouts, directors, coaches, and general managers, and we didn’t have any team needs to consider — we’ll save those for the mock drafts.

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So, this Big Board is all about the players we think are the 50 best overall in this draft class. We started the process by putting together our best players at every position, from quarterback to safety…

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…and then, we each put together their individual Top 50 lists. After a bit of thumb-wrestling, we came up with what you have before you. With well over 20,000 words, and more than 200 individual tape examples, and scads of advanced metrics, we feel that this is as comprehensive a top prospect list as you’ll see anywhere outside of an NFL front office.

Here are Touchdown Wire’s Top 50 prospects in the 2022 NFL draft class.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated. All testing data comes from the 2022 scouting combine, with percentile per position, courtesy of MockDraftable.com. Certain biographical information was gleaned from Dane Brugler’s “The Beast” draft guide over at The Athletic, which is a must-read every year).

NBA: Final stat category leaders for 2021-22 regular season

Rookie Wire took a look back at which players were among the leaders in scoring, rebounding, assists and more.

With the 2021-22 regular season wrapped up, observers of the NBA can now take a look back at the year that was and evaluate how each player performed.

The season produced several notable moments with the elite players of the league proving exactly why they are so highly thought of. The end-of-season awards races project to be highly competitive as a result and will be worth monitoring with the voting now completed.

2021 NBA draft class: Final rookie stat leaders for the 2021-22 season

Rookie Wire took a look back at the season and identified which players were among the leaders in several key statistical categories, including scoring, rebounding, assists and more.

Note: Stat leaders are according to NBA.com.

2021 NBA draft class: Final rookie stat leaders for the 2021-22 season

Rookie Wire took a look back at which first-year players were among the leaders in scoring, rebounding, assists and more.

With the 2021-22 regular season wrapped up, observers of the NBA can now take a look back at the year that was and evaluate how each player performed, including the rookie class.

The group played at a high level throughout the season with several individuals emerging as potential future All-Stars. As a result, the Rookie of the Year voting is expected to be highly competitive with as many as five players in the running to win.

Rookie Wire took a look back at how the class performed and which players were among the leaders in key statistical categories, including scoring, rebounding and assists.

Note: Stat leaders are according to NBA.com.

NBA teams with the best odds of winning the 2022 NBA Finals

See the favorites and longshots to win the 2022 NBA championship as the playoffs are set to begin.

The 2021-2022 NBA regular season is in the books, and 20 teams still have a chance at capturing the Larry O’Brien championship trophy by the end of June.

The Phoenix Suns secured the best record in the NBA by a wide margin and enter the playoffs as title favorites, but this season has delivered a relatively open title race with plenty of interesting storylines.

Can the Bucks go back-to-back? With the Nets be able to put it all together in the playoffs? Can Ja Morant carry the Grizzlies to the franchise’s first Finals?

Here are the latest championship odds for every playoff team, courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. You can places your futures bet on the eventual 2022 NBA champion here.

2022 NBA Mock Draft 3.0: Projections for every pick post-NCAA Tournament

Rookie Wire took a look at the next draft class following the NCAA Tournament and projected every pick.

With Kansas claiming the NCAA championship this week, the victory marked the official beginning of the NBA pre-draft process with prospects now looking to transition to the next level.

Several of the top prospects have already declared for the NBA draft while others are still mulling over their decisions, respectively. They will now have the opportunity to begin their preparations for upcoming workouts and other related scouting events.

Underclassmen have until April 24 to declare for the NBA draft. They can withdraw from draft consideration up until June 1 and still keep their remaining collegiate eligibility. Those borderline prospects can improve their draft stock during that time before making a firm decision.

Rookie Wire took a look at the next rookie class and projected every pick based on the latest information at hand. Of course, with much of the pre-draft process left to play out, these rankings will change but here is how we see things at the moment.

Note: The order of the draft was pulled from Tankathon as of April 9. The 2022 draft may only have 58 picks after the Bucks and Heat were stripped of their second-round picks by the NBA.

Every NBA MVPs born outside of the United States

The NBA has had a number of international MVPs. Who are the foreign-born Most Valuable Players in NBA history? From the 90s to today, international stars have been growing in prowess in the Association.

The NBA is an increasingly international game – it makes sense that the league’s MVP award is also increasingly international. Seven times has a foreign-born player won the honor since the inaugural MVP in 1956, including six times in the last twenty years. At the time of this writing – April 2022 – the number looks poised to grow at the conclusion of the 2021-22 season.

This year, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, representing Greece, Cameroon, and Serbia, have seemingly run away with the award. Players like Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, or Kevin Durant could come in and muddy the water on the behalf of the Americans, but it’s clear that there are at least three and emphatic MVP candidates born overseas.

Whether from halfway around the world or from just over the border, the international community has produced some of basketballs greatest players, and that trend will only strengthen in years to come. For now, here are the NBA’s foreign-born MVPs.